PAST EXHIBITION

Study of the Head of an Old Man in Profile

Drawing of a half-length young man with big sleeves and a separate drawing of an old man's face in profile to the right

Study of the Head of an Old Man in Profile, ca. 1520
Red chalk
9 7/16 x 10 7/8 in. (23.9 x 27.7 cm)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
Recto
bpk, Berlin / Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany / Photo: Volker-H. Schneider / Art Resource, NY

Accompanying Andrea’s many drawings from live models are his studies after antique sculpture like that after the Laocoön and this sheet after a bust of Homer, which prepares a figure in The Tribute to Caesar. Infusing the head with the vivacity of a living being, Andrea retains a glimmer of reflected light under the eye that hints at the physical quality of his stone source. The drawing of the draped young man also prepares a figure in the Tribute, though the youthful face is probably that of a garzone and becomes a more mature character in the painting.

Facebook Twitter Threads